Where'd the Time Go?

So, here it is Friday and I'm still playing catch up from last week!

Last Friday was Josh's last day of school. His current school only goes through 2nd grade, so it was his last day at that school! He was a bit sad, but he's excited about starting at the Intermediate School next year too!

Last Thursday, they had a small class party and put on plays for the parents. Here are some pics of Josh and his classmates and teacher....



His two best friends in his class, Nadine and Emily. Emily is moving and we're very sad because she and Josh were very good friends this year. According to Nadine, they fancied each other but I'm in denial about that and Josh says they were just good friends.

Josh and his teacher. We loved Ms. Barlow!


And his whole class together. They were a great bunch of kids, but apparently 2nd graders are very rowdy!


Also on Friday, Josh had his last baseball game of the season. He did really well and made lots of progress this year. At his last at-bat Rich pitched to him and Josh had his best hit of the season. Rich only had one pitch and Josh swung and smacked the ball as hard as he could. Right over Rich's head! I was lucky to get the picture!




On Friday night Rich and I were trying to think of something to do that weekend. We didn't want to sit around the house and let the long weekend go to waste. So we decided to go to Chattanooga for the night. We go up there quite often. It's only an hour and a half away, but we decided to make it special and spend the night up there.

There are lots of places to stay, but we decided to stay at the Chattanooga Choo Choo Hotel (run by Holiday Inn). It was a great choice! It looks like they are refurbishing it a bit, but at the moment it's a bit dated - however, the staff were so nice! And the restaurant was surprisingly good!

They converted the old train station into a hotel and it's really cool. You can even stay in the train cars if you want. We opted for a 2-room suite so the kids could have their own room and we could spread out, but I definitely want to stay in the train cars one time. And the boys want to do that too.

We did the usual trip to the Aquarium on Saturday but wanted to do something a bit different on Sunday. And it was raining so anything outside was out of the question. We decided to go to Ruby Falls. It's a large underground waterfall. The trip had us walking through a cave to the cavern at the end with the falls. Pictures from the site can be found here. It was lots of fun and very pretty! My pictures from out trip can be found here and here. Not all of them, but a good selection.

This week I've been trying to keep the boys busy. We're trying some new things this year. I don't want the boys to sit infront of the TV playing video games all day so we're getting out and exploring and trying to find free things to do in the city. Or at least inexpensive ones! Starting next week we seem to have quite a bit planned with free movies, trips with the Mom's Group and things I've planned.

I'll try to be better at updating with our adventures and the Things We Do!

Wordless Wednesday: Trip to Chattanooga

For more Wordless Wednesday visit the WW HQ and 5 Minutes for Mom

Details of our trip to Chattanooga tomorrow!

Wordless Wednesday: My Liverpool Boys

Okay, so maybe they didn't win the League, but they're still the best team! Here's to next year!


For more Wordless Wednesday visit the WW HQ and 5 Minutes for Mom

Menu Plan Monday

Happy Monday everyone! I do have some updates and such but since it's Menu Plan Monday I'll wait and post them tomorrow.

I seem to do okay on my menu planning for the start of the week, then it seems things come up the second half of the week and I mix it up a bit. I use what I have on hand, but seem to change what we eat.

I guess the main thing is I'm using what I already have to make a meal. Like last week, I made a stir fry on Friday night instead of fajitas, and I made Salmon Tikka on Saturday (it was really good and details on this are below). A lot of the changes depend on what vegetables we get in the farmers market baskets on Thursday.

This week I'm trying to maximize food I already have in the house. Of course I need to go shopping for a few things, but I want to use the meats and fish that we already have in the freezer. And I want to use up the vegetables in the fridge too.

So I'm sure there will be some changes as the week progresses, but at the moment, this is what we have on the menu this week....

Monday - Left over Salmon Tikka, roasted cauliflower and curried chickpeas.

On Saturday I marinaded some salmon (cut into cubes) in some organic fat free yogurt mixed with some tikka spices and lemon juice. Then I stuck the cubes on skewers and broiled them for a few minutes. YUM! I served them with some roasted cauliflower (which is one of my new favorite things) and some curried chickpeas. For the chickpeas I just sauteed some diced onion - about 1/2 a small onion - in olive oil until they were soft. Then I added a can of chickpeas and stirred to coat - about a minute or so. Then I added a spoonful of Patak's Mild Curry Paste and added about 1/2 can of chopped tomatoes and simmered for about 20 minutes. Then I added a handfull of chopped baby spinach, covered and let simmer until the spinach was wilted and we were ready to eat. It was SOOOOO GOOD! Anyway, I'm having the left over's today.

Tuesday - Chicken with Green Olives & Prunes, broccoli and brown rice

This is something I really don't think Rich will eat so I'll be having it on a day he won't be home for dinner. I love chicken and green olives together and the picture just looks so yummy!

Wednesday - Something with turkey cutlets.

I have them in the freezer and they're quick and easy to cook up. Josh really loves baked potatoes so I'll probably serve them with a salad, baked potatoes. I really love cold roasted beets in vinegar. So if I have time to roast up some beets this week I'll do that and we can have them with the salad as well.

Thursday - Salmon, vegetables from my farmer's market basket and potatoes.

This is sort of a "Thursday staple" and you'll see it over and over again. We love salmon and I try to have fish a few times a week.

Friday - Baked Penne

Josh has his last baseball game on Friday night and who knows how long it will last. So I'll make this. It's from CleanEating and basically, brown up some ground white meat turkey breast, boil whole wheat penne, add some broccoli, mix the penne & meat with some tomato sauce (I like the Muir Glen Organic the best but use what you like). Throw the mixture into a casserole dish - top with a bit of low-fat mozzerella and bake at 350 for 20ish minutes. Easypeasylemonsqueezy - and delicious!

Saturday - Chili-Rubbed Tilapia with Asparagus & Lemon and potaotes.

You've seen this one before. It was really good so I'm doing it again.

Sunday - I have no idea. If the weather is nice, I'd love to do a barbecue. And since next Monday is Memorial Day, we've been thinking about trying to go camping that night... but who knows. We'll just have to wait and see.

As usual, I'm taking part in two menu planning blogrolls. For more ideas and menu plans, visit Menu Plan Monday at "I'm an Organization Junkie" and Chive Talkin's Menu Plan Blogroll (she had some really yummy looking things last week!)

I have heaps of oranges that I don't really know what to do with. In my search, I found this recipe for Cranberry - Orange Biscotti. I made them this week. They are really good and so easy to make! I used orange juice in lieu of the orange liqueur because that's what I had on hand. They were very good and would make an excellent teacher gift!